Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Judging by Ugliness

Of the many lessons we can learn from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, perhaps the most obvious is that we shouldn't be mean to others simply for being different. The titular character, Quasimodo, was nearly killed as an infant and was mocked by a crowd of jeering produce-throwers, all only because he was "ugly." I think we can agree that the ugly behavior of Quasimodo's tormentors is more offensive than Quasimodo's appearance.

We should not be so quick to judge, and we shouldn't judge others for such frivolous reasons as appearance. A person's heart is a far better indicator of their character and worth than anything else, so judging a person by their appearance (including any and all judgements based on their skin tone or apparent nationality or ethnicity) is ultimately a poor means of passing judgement.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame teaches us the folly of judging others based on their appearance, and the scriptures teach us the folly of judging others at all. So, let us try to refrain from judging others, and let us especially refrain from judging others by how they look.

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